Return
by rhhgrt
Summary: Remus has seen the light and returns home to his pregnant wife. However, his mother-in-law is none too pleased with his recent behavior, and has no qualms about informing him of this. Oneshot.


**Return**

He knew that this was right, and that he was wrong, but that didn't make doing it any easier, or less terrifying.

After several minutes of self-coaching, Remus took a deep breath, lifted his hand, and knocked on the door three times. He heard footsteps approaching to door, and took another deep breath, hoping that it would be Dora who answered. His hopes, it seems, went unanswered, because approximately five seconds later the door swung open to reveal none other than Andromeda.

She had opened the door with an expectant look on her face—perhaps she had hoped that it was Ted knocking on the door to announce his return, Remus considered with a squirm of guilt—however her look of hope quickly morphed into an expression of pure anger and disdain. Being fixed with a glare like that by a Black woman was not for the faint of heart.

"Remus," she said after a long, uncomfortable silence. After that she merely stared at him. It was clear that he was going to be the one doing the talking.

"Erm, hello Andromeda."

She simply stared at him, the glare now gone, and replaced by unnervingly blank, emotionless face. After a minute or two of this—during which Remus grew more and more uncomfortable and apprehensive with each passing second—she stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her.

"What do you want, Remus?"

"Well, I've come back."

"Come back," she repeated, making each word sound like the stupidest and most childish one in the English language.

"Yes," Remus replied. He had decided that perhaps it would be best to speak minimally so not to give Andromeda any more ammunition.

"And why did you come back?"

"Because Dora's here and she's pregnant and…" Remus tapered off, knowing that nothing he had to say could possibly help the situation.

She simply stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't she spoke up.

"Why should I let you back in?"

"What?" Remus hadn't been expecting that.

"You heard what I said. Why should I let you back into my home and back into my daughter's life? Give me one good reason."

Remus knew that he was going to come up blank. He tried to think of something, anything that she would accept, but the expression on her face was so intimidating that anything he came up with died on his tongue before he could open his mouth.

"I see," she said finally, "so if I am to understand you correctly, you can give me no good reason as to why I should allow you back into my home. Is that right?"

Remus opened his mouth and closed it a few times, still not knowing how to respond.

"Well, since you seem to have lost your inability to speak, I'll do it for you," she said as she took a step towards him, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I am disgusted with you Remus," she hissed at him. "You take off on your pregnant wife for no reason that I care to discern and then you think that you can just come waltzing back? Well let me tell you something _Moony_," she sneered; he winced at her use of his old nickname, "that particular brand of immaturity is not okay when it is my daughter we're dealing with. Is that understood?" she snarled so dangerously that he was afraid to answer.

"It is against my better judgment to allow you into back into my home," she continued after a pause. "However, my daughter needs you, and that is the only reason I will let you in. Now go. And stay the hell out of my sight."

Remus darted past her into the house and made his way back into the bedroom he shared with Dora.

"Remus!" Dora squealed as she hopped off of the bed and threw her arms around his neck. "You're back," she murmured into his neck, "I'm so glad you're back."

"Of course I'm back," he murmured back. "I'm so sorry Dora."

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm just glad you're here," she paused, and then pulled back to look at his face. "I suppose that Mum wasn't exactly, erm, _welcoming_, was she?"

"She was…annoyed."

Dora stopped to consider this.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, it's fine. I bought it upon myself."

"Yeah," Dora agreed softly, "but don't worry," she said brightly, "Mum'll get over it. Eventually."

"Yes," said Remus, "eventually."

He quite sure that the next few weeks were quite likely to be very unpleasant, and, had Andromeda known what he was thinking at that moment, she would have wholeheartedly agreed with him.


End file.
